1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a collectible and a method of making the same, and more particularly to a mass-produced, low-cost, keepsake collectible, which may be made substantially from towels or the like and may have a bean bag core.
2. Description of Related Art
Aboard a cruise ship, a guest may return to his or her room to find a small animal perched on their bed made from simple hand towels. Behind the scenes, a cabin steward or housekeeping staff member has folded a towel or towels by hand to create the likeness of the animal. For the passenger, these novelties are often a welcome and memorable part of the cruise experience, for adults as well as children.
Unfortunately, the conventional novelties are time-consuming to make and thus expensive, in terms of labor costs, for a cruise ship operator. Also, since the novelties are merely folded pieces of cloth, they are temporary in nature. Thus, the passenger or guest cannot realistically take the novelty home as a keepsake in order to remember the cruise. Even if they did, the novelty would not retain its shape over a long period of time. Further, the cruise ship operator does not wish to encourage the taking of towels, in the first place. Novelty towels and napkins may also be found in hotels or restaurants, aboard trains or planes, and in other hospitality and travel businesses.
There is a need for a mass-produced, low-cost novelty that can be taken home as a keepsake and which would be a replacement for the high-cost, temporary novelty of the prior art. A variety of U.S. patents disclose towels and toys; however, none are directed to a collectible and method of making a collectible which solves the aforementioned problems.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,082,437, issued Mar. 26, 1963 to S. Upthagrove, describes a novelty beach mat. U.S. Pat. No. 4,224,712, issued Sep. 30, 1980 to Black et al., describes a towel and method. U.S. Design Pat. No. 364,004, issued Nov. 7, 1995 to Ederle, describes a wash cloth for infants. U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,258, issued Sep. 9, 1997 to Harris, describes an animal/fowl caricature-like towel parka.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 401,020, issued Nov. 10, 1998 to Barlow, describes an oven pan pad. U.S. Design Pat. No. 409,036, issued May 4, 1999 to Bear, describes an ornamental child's pillow in the fanciful form of a turtle. U.S. Pat. No. 6,108,855, issued Aug. 29, 2000 to DeLeon, describes a hand towel. Japanese Patent No. 2001-340254, issued Dec. 11, 2001 to Hirotaka, describes a mascot shaped hand towel.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.